Hjalnir Stoutshield
Origin Born to the Stout clan of mountain Dwarves famous for their love of treasure and hatred for Duergar. He was both a good and a bad omen. For the good fortune of his clan he was born with golden colored eyes, a sure sign of good fortune to dwarven folk but especially to clan Stout. But they say heroes with great destiny and luck must also bear tragedy just as great. Born with the grey flesh tone of a distant duergar ancestor that raped his great great great grandmother in a raid. Due to this stigma he was never allowed to be a part of his clan's traditions and so when he was strong enough to survive the journey he left the mountains that were his home and joined a well known human mercenary band known as the"Praetor's word" Paetor's Word Service The Praetor's Word is a mainly human mercenary band whose peculiar rules and codes of conduct leave an indellible mark on its members. Being a mercenary band of utmost respect each of its members were required to be clean shaven which leaves Hjalnir with a particular quirk. As a dwarf without a beard of any sort he is never taken seriously by either humans familiar with dwarves or by fellow dwarves. This treatment has affected his personality and left him a cantankerous dwarf with little knack at social interaction with any but the members of his old unit or those whom they served. He began his service contract as a mere soldier. Upon seeing his talents for keeping his fellow soldiers safe from foes he was promoted to the V.I.P guard detail reserved for the lords and generals that employ or deploy with them. After being with this detail with an exceptional service record ,eventually becoming a Sgt. ,he would soon leave after a particular mission caused him to lose all his men in the act of protecting a certain lord. 'Companion ' Hjalnir growing up dealing with his stigma had to find ways to cope with the hatred of his clan and began to wander in the depths of his family's mines. On his last day with the clan he stumbled upon a secret room that had no treasure immediately visible. It wasn't until later that he noticed a small mechanical spider on his head looking into a mirror. As he jumped in surprise he realized the spider didn't move and stuck it in his pocket. Later when he was sleeping he woke up with said mechanical spider residing on his face unmoving. It occurred to him that this spider was magical in nature and only moved when nobody was paying attention. Realizing that this is a kind of treasure unknown to his people and that they would take it from him he decided that this day was the day he would leave his clan. he packed his belongings and left with haste. As he left he realized that such a peculiar treasure needed a name ...he decided skitter was a good name and so it was. 'Adventuring Career ' To be discovered...